Talk of this type of playlist originated back in 2008 following the Variety Map Pack release on Call of Duty 4, along with Hardcore Ricochet and Second-Chance Search and Destroy. Hardcore Ricochet has also been implemented in Modern Warfare 2. However, the Barebones that was talked about then was also planned to disable perks and attachments along with killstreaks.[1]

It is easier than most other game modes to complete the challenge "The Loner" (get a 10 kill streak with no killstreak rewards enabled), due to the lack of enemy killstreaks.

It is possible to search for a Barebones Pro lobby with six total players in the party. However, a game will not start unless it is Free-For-All (Barebones Team Deathmatch is 4v4).